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Termas da Azenha

Bed & Breakfast, Selfcatering, Camping/Caravans, Activity Holidays, Volunteers Apartments
(Soure). Sleeps: 4

Termas da Azenha - Click on photo for more photographs from Termas da Azenha.

Former Spa village converted to holiday accommodation.

Termas da Azenha is situated on the edge of the valley of the river Pranto which spills its load in the Rio Mondego only a few miles away. This rice growing valley, surrounded by forested hills, is located at not even 10 miles from the rough Atlantic Ocean.

Termas da Azenha is a former Spa, where the Portuguese people used to take baths and cure from skin problems, having a holiday with the whole family. Nowadays, with the new Dutch owners, there is a renewed interest in the curing, purifying aspect of the water.

Termas da Azenha is partly renovated and ready to receive holiday makers in the 2 apartments (for 4), the 2 studios (for 2), 2 guesthouses (up to 5), 3 guestrooms (for 2), 4 hotelrooms (for 2) and a simple but effective camping site under the olive trees. We also have 6 caravans (for 2) ready for rent.

Apartments (Isis & Africa): Charming 4 room apartments, situated in the Casa Maior. Double bedroom; twin bedroom; living room; kitchen/diner & private terrace.

Click here for more photos of Isis
Click here for more photos of Africa

"Oliveira" and "Palmeira": 5 person apartments (2 adults 3 children each), one bedroom with double bed, one with three single beds. Kitchen and livingroom in one, a huge cupboard and a mosaic bathroom.

Click here for more photos of Palmeira
Click here for more photos of Oliveira

Studios (Ceylon & China): are situated in a separate building, facing the Filosofical garden. The ground-plan is simple, but effective: in a space of 35m2 you will find a kitchen, a dining table and a living area. Behind a wooden screen there are two beds. There is a separate bathroom.

Click here for more photos of Ceylon
Click here for more photos of China

Rooms in the row (Hotel Rooms): Adjoining the Filosofical garden there is a gallery with 4 hotelrooms. Each twin/double en-suite room has unique decoration, a view over the rice-fields, and its own garden.

Quartos Simple´(Guest Rooms): These rooms are situated on the 1st floor of the bathhouse. These rooms are modest with one or two single beds, a table and a cupboard. The shower-bath and the baths are downstairs, the toilets are in the corridor.

Events at Termas da Azenha (click for details and prices):
Free parents and happy playing children
Guided Walking Holidays
Self-guided Walking Holidays
Making mosaics in Portugal, the land of the Azulejos, the tiles that made Portugal famous.

Meals (If Available):

Breakfast: 4
Lunch: 4
Dinner (3 courses):12
Full Board: 17.50

Extras (if any):

Bicycles: 3 per day
Laundry: 5 per load
Car Hire: 30 per day
Massage: 10 half an hour
Mosaic Making: 35
WIFI: Most houses and rooms in the Termas have an internet-connection now. You can take your laptop, if you want.

Volunteers:
Working in the Termas can be a great experience in your life. Come down and live a "wild" life with lizards, chicken, dogs, sheep, storks, frogs and birds of prey. We need help in the garden, to cut the grass, cultivate land, do the vegetables, prune trees. And maybe make some beds and talk to some guests. If you can create walking tours, make mosaics or paintings, you are specially welcome!!

Number of bedrooms: 1, 2

Prices in euros:
High Season: 16 June - 14 September.
Apartments: 460 per week
Studios: 356 per week
Hotelrooms: 335 / 50 per night
Guestrooms: 25 per night

Mid Season: 22 December - 5 January & 28 April - 1 June & 29 September - 2 November
Apartments: 375 per week
Studios: 310 per week
Hotelrooms: 290 / 45 per night
Guestrooms: 20 per night

Low Season : 07 January - 29 April & 27 May - 17 June & 16 September - 30 September & 28 October - 23 December
Apartments: 290 per week
Studios: 265 per week
Hotelrooms: 245 / 40 per night
Guestrooms: 15 per night

Cleaning: 25
Gas: 20
Electricity (campsite): 2.50 per day

Free parents and happy playing children

We have a special treat for parents with young children, and have created an opportunity for you to rest and relax, together with your youngsters.

We have converted the patio to an adventurous playgarden for the little ones, with a shallow swimmingpool (40cm water), a sand-box, a place to play with clay. There are ropes to climb in, a swing, some old cellars to play hide-and-seek or some fantasy game, and it is completely safe, surrounded by walls and closed by a gate. The parents can be in the sun or in the shadow, reading a book, taking a nap or whatever they feel like, the children will amuse themselves.

In the apartment we put a special bed, a high chair, a little bathtub, a special device for the toilet. Part of the service is the change of sheets whenever necessary.

We also have a diner service. You can have all your meals with us, but you also can have it in the apartment. If you dine with us on our terrace, we have a high chair ready for you. You can rent bicycles or a car with a childseat. We have a lot of lovely daytrips to riverbeaches, little lakes or castles to enjoy. We can provide a babysitter - granny Inge - if you would like to go out together, for example to the casino in Figueira da Foz or a fado-night in Coimbra, or a romantic stroll at a moonlit beach.

Part of the arrangement is tickets for "Portugal dos Pequenitos" - a very nice museum in Coimbra with all styles of houses in Portugal and in the former colonies. Your kids can go in and out of the houses and will have a wonderful time! (open from June till September). On another day you can come to visit a quinta close by, to see a typically Portuguese farmhouse and meet the horses.

Prices in euros:
high season (12/06 - 15/09): 435 euro
low season (16/09 - 11/06): 285 euro
included: bed, bath, highchair, etc. in the apartment; tickets to "Portugal dos Pequenitos"; a babysitter for a nice evening out; free access to the playgarden
not included: travel, meals & outings.

If you would like to make a booking please email andy@pureportugalholidays.com. You will then be contacted either by us, or by the host, to discuss your requirements, payment method and deposit (if required).

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Guided Walking Holidays

Relaxed walking in attractive surroundings. The landscape in Central Portugal is diverse. Hills with Eucalyptus groves make way for river deltas whilst untouched beaches stretch for miles along the coast, flanked by sand dunes and cliffs.

Accommodation will be in the former Spa resort of Termas da Azenha, which is being restored to its former glory by its Dutch owners. The resort is on the edge of a valley with rice fields, a paradise for all nature lovers but especially for bird enthusiasts: birds of prey, storks, herons and many others are regular visitors in our gardens, orchards and olive groves.

The programme includes a walk through the historic city of Coimbra where we will visit the famous university library. We will also visit the well-known forest of Buçaco, a centuries old botanical garden originally created by monks. In Figuera da Foz, a pretty seaside town, we will visit the salt planes situated in the estuary of the river Mondego, where people have been panning salt for generations. In this marshy tidal area, we are likely to see many flamingos and storks. We will walk along rice fields, pale green in spring, golden in autumn.

The programme also includes a walk through mountainous areas like the Serra de Lousã, where there are picturesque abandoned villages and the Serra de Boa Viagem, where remains of prehistoric animals are found and where we can even search for fossils ourselves. In Conimbriga we'll visit the world-famous Roman excavations with exquisite mosaics. On Sunday we drive to the bustling regional market of Lourical, where an amazing range of items are for sale: clothes, shoes, fruit and vegetables, fish and even live chickens! We will then walk back to Thermas da Azenha through the rice fields.

Walks range from easy to moderately strenuous and will last for a maximum of four hours a day. Whilst two rest days are included in the 12-day programme, you are of course free to skip the odd walk if you wish, to relax in the thermal bath complex or to take the local train to the beach. For the more energetic visitor, additional walks can be arranged.

Your guide will be a Dutch lady who has been living in Portugal for some years and who speaks excellent English.

Prices in euros:
8 day holiday low season: 440
8 day holiday high season: 495
Prices are inclusive of accommodation in twin guest rooms, all meals, packed lunches and transport to and from the railway station
Additional nights can be booked at 33 per night
Single occupation of a room will attract a supplement of 55 per week.

To enquire about dates in 2007 please email andy@pureportugalholidays.com

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Self-guided Walking Holidays

Hereby you will find the program of our self-guided walking holiday. Because of the fact that all of our programs are 'handmade', this program is just an example of how your holiday could look like. The program can be altered as you wish. You can choose from heavy or less heavy walks, extend the amount of days and, if desired use our car for more days.

This holiday can be booked from the beginning of April until the end of October. In the months July and August however it might get rather warm, especially in the mountains.

Example Walks:

Walk from the Termas to the remains of an old monastery. The length of the walk is about 10 miles and will lead you through the rice-fields. In the documentation there will be an explanation about the history of the monastery and monastic orders in Portugal. There's also information concerning the plants and animals one can see here. The climbs are very moderate.

Transfer by car to a traditional Portugese market in Lourical. This market is famous in the whole area and is visited mostly by Portuguese people. One can buy here all kinds of stuff: vegetables, fruit, fish, meat, living birds, shoes. After visiting the market, you will walk back to the Termas. This walk will take about 3.5 hour.

Salinas: You will be brought to the start of the walk (the Ecomuseu do Sal). Here you can make a walk of about 2 miles. By means of boards there is an explanation about the making of salt. The real making of salt starts in June and ends in August. In the winter-season the Salinas are used for fishing. In November and December you can see groups of flamingos. After visiting the Salinas you walk back to the Termas in about 5 hours. During this walk you walk through swamps and along one of the largest quintas in this part of Portugal. The last part of the walk will lead through a forest.

Coimbra: At 9am the train leaves from Bicanho, which is about 10 minutes away from the Termas. In about 1 hour you will be in Coimbra. This old university-town has many sights to see. Especially the library from the university is worth visiting. We will offer you some suggestions for a walk and descriptions of the most important sights.

Serra de Boa Viagem: This mountain-area lies north of Figueira da Foz. We take you to the beginning of the walk by car. The Serra de Boa Viagem is a beautiful area close to the sea, with impressive cliffs. In this area remains are found of Dinos. In the mines, where lime is made, you can look for ammonites. Halfway through you can make a little detour to the beach. Afterwards the walk continues though the hills to end at a fantastic viewpoint (a miradouro). Miles and miles of clean sandy beaches stretch along the coast, as far as the eye can see. At the end of the walk you descend towards Buarcos, where you take the bus to the train-station. After a trip of half an hour by train, we'll pick you up at the station.

All of the walks are marked on a map. At some parts the walks are also marked on the road. When you return from your walk a drink will be waiting for you.

Prices per person (based on 2 people sharing a room) in euros:
High season: 17 June - 16 September.
Mid season: 23 December - 06 January & 29 April - 27 May & 30 September - 28 October
Low season : 07 January - 29 April & 27 May - 17 June & 16 September - 30 September & 28 October - 23 December

High Season / Mid Season / Low season

If you would like to make a booking please email andy@pureportugalholidays.com. You will then be contacted either by us, or by the host, to discuss your requirements, payment method and deposit (if required).

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Making mosaics in Portugal, the land of the Azulejos, the tiles that made Portugal famous.

Portugal has a rich history in the area of mosaicmaking. The Romans in the 2nd - 4th century after Christ already used this technique to beautificate their walls and floors. The Portugese adopted this tradition.

The presented mosaic-course exists from learning how to use the current tools, choosing the right material, cutting various shapes and forms with various nippers, handling the hammer, the saw, the cutter and, last but not least, handling the pointing trowel and the joint of grout.

There will be an outing to Conimbriga, where we visit a Roman excavation. Here you can see examples of well-kept mosaics.

The course will be given by Lisette van Zeijl and Ellen Lanser. In the past years, Lisette has been teaching several courses on mosaics. She holds workshops in Amsterdam and in the artscentre BaZtille in Zoetermeer, the Netherlans. Her unlimited enthousiasm for the art has now taken her to Portugal, cradle of mosaic-art. Her speciality is classical mosaic, Roman style.

Ellen is self-taught and has many years of experience. In her little village, the former spa resort Termas da Azenha, she has completed numerous of large projects, sometimes alone, but often working with others. She finds Portugal's tradition in the art of tiling very inspiring. Her speciality is making large works on walls and floors and the use of many colours of grout.

Lisette and Ellen enjoy a harmonious working relationship and at the photos on this page, you can see the results of their co-operation: the images of Neptune and the Coralfish. Previous participants have commented positively on their approach of co-operation.

The courses are aimed at both beginners and improvers. Work can be done at various surfaces, for example, a bowl, a terracotta pot, a tabletop. Glass mosaics are also possible. Many examples can be presented, and the surroundings will inspire you to create your own designs.

A course lasts 8 days of which the first and the last are travel days. That leaves 6 days to create your (first) own work. You will work on a small object to take home and will also be given a chance to work on larger projects, for example a wall or gardenbench. Of these, you will of course only be able to take home a photo. Specially for the more advanced, this provides a unique opportunity to create larger work and to gain experience for any project you may wish to start in your own home or garden.

To enquire about dates in 2007 please email andy@pureportugalholidays.com

Prices in euros:
Guestroom: 495
Hotelroom: 544
Campsite: 495
Prices are inclusive of accommodation, all meals, tuition, materials, outing to Conimbriga, transfer Soure - Azenha
Additional nights can be booked at 33 per night
Single occupation of a room will attract a supplement of 55 per week.

Availability & Booking:

Contact the owner of Termas da Azenha direct.

Can we help?
Pure Portugal can help with many aspects of your trip to Central Portugal. We can connect you to people who will pick you up from the airport, give tours of the area & informal taxi service, translators & other english speaking professionals.
Contact us to find out if we can help.
Our Pure Portugal Information website is also packed with useful information.

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Pure Portugal advertises on behalf of hosts / owners, who supply their details, and are responsible for accuracy and booking arrangements.
Pure Portugal Ltd is a workers co-operative company, registered in England no: 5123198
Registered Office: 93 North Street, Burwell, Cambridge, CB5 0BB, United Kingdom.